WSMTATMC C27

Chapter 27

Those two people outside were precisely Wang Ying’s parents.

The day before, the couple had discussed it until midnight and decided they absolutely had to make a trip into town. Even if they had to sweet-talk him, they needed to win Wang Ying over. After all, their in-laws were landlords — if they could establish this connection, life would definitely improve in the future!

They asked around all the way until they found the shop.

Wang Laoshuan nudged his wife. “You go in and call him out.”

“I wouldn’t dare. What if he hits me with a bamboo pole?”

Wang Laoshuan glared at her, scaring her into quickly lowering her head and moving forward to make inquiries.

Knock knock knock. Wang Mother knocked. “Er Ying…”

“Eh?” Wang Ying instinctively responded to the sound, but when he raised his head and clearly saw who it was, his expression immediately stiffened. He knew this family wouldn’t let him off so easily.

“What are you doing here?”

“We came to see you.” Wang Mother pulled the old man behind her forward, and Wang Laoshuan forced a stiff smile onto his face.

Wang Ying sneered coldly. “To see whether I’ve been beaten by your eldest son?”

“What kind of thing is that to say? Yesterday your older brother came to eat a cucumber from you, and you actually asked him for money…”

“Does he go to anyone else’s house to eat without paying? Besides, my cucumbers sell for more than twenty wen¹ per jin², and he just picked one up and ate it. Why shouldn’t I ask him for money?”

“Tw—Twenty wen?” Wang Mother’s eyes lit up at once when she heard that, unexpectedly realizing how profitable running a vegetable stall was.

Wang Ying knew exactly what she was thinking. He stood up and picked up a bamboo pole, frightening the two into stepping back outside.

“If you’re not here to buy vegetables, whatever you have to say, say it outside.”

“Ying’er, I know you have grievances in your heart. In the past, it was your mother’s fault. Just forgive us.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Get out now!”

Seeing this, Wang Laoshuan blew out his beard and glared. “What are you trying to do, hit your own father and mother?”

“Whose father and mother? Have you gone senile? The severance letter has already been written. I’m no longer part of the Wang family. Still thinking you can get benefits from me? Peh! You should look in a puddle and see whether you even have that qualification!”

The old couple was dumbfounded. The formerly honest and dull second son had somehow turned into such a sharp-tongued person. For a moment they were so choked up they couldn’t manage a response.

Wang Ying took the chance to shut the door and firmly insert the wooden latch. By the time the two reacted, they were already shut out.

“Open the door! You unfilial child, I’m your father! How can you talk to me like that? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?”

Wang Mother played the good cop: “Second son, it’s true you’ve suffered some grievances these past years, but what child in the village doesn’t do chores? Didn’t we also raise you to adulthood?”

Inside, Wang Ying kept silent. How shameless they were to say that aloud.

If it weren’t for the original owner’s grandmother, he would have been drowned at birth.

Once the grandmother passed away, he became old enough to work, and the Wang family kept him like a bonded servant.

Three hundred and sixty days a year, without a single day’s rest — he lived worse than livestock. At least oxen and horses got to rest once in a while. Even when he was burning with fever, he still had to cook and do laundry for the family.

He remembered one winter in particular: Li’l Wang Ying had no thick clothing to keep out the cold and became ill from freezing. His fever was so high he felt weak, dizzy, and blurry-eyed, but he still had to fetch water and cook for them.

He collapsed headlong on the ice at the riverbank and only woke up more than half an hour later. His limbs were numb from frostbite, but he gritted his teeth, carried the water back, and was instead viciously scolded by his mother and slapped in the face.

It was only thanks to sheer toughness that he survived. Otherwise, grass would have grown an arm’s length high over his grave by now.

And now they dared claim they had “raised” him? Shameless!

When Wang Laoshuan found the door wouldn’t open, he started kicking it in anger.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Chen Qingyan, seeing this, hitched up his robes and ran over.

Wang Mother stopped and looked him up and down. “And who might you be?”

“I’m his husband!”

“Oh my, so you’re the son-in-law?”

“Who’s your in-law?” Chen Qingyan shook off Wang Mother, who was trying to latch onto him, and looked at the two with full wariness.

“I’m your mother-in-law, Wang Ying’s mother.”

Wang Laoshuan wanted to put on an air of an elder, looking Chen Qingyan up and down. When he didn’t see him step forward to offer a respectful greeting, he coughed and said, “I’m your father-in-law, Wang Ying’s father.”

Chen Qingyan ignored them entirely and simply walked past to knock on the shop door.

Knock knock knock. “Open up, it’s me.”

The door opened slightly from inside, and Wang Ying peeked out, scanning left and right. Seeing the two were still there, he quickly pulled Chen Qingyan inside, then shoved the latch back in place at once.

Chen Qingyan anxiously held him by the shoulders and looked him over. “They didn’t give you trouble, did they?”

“No. Don’t bother with them. By the way, Aunt Chen’s fried fish cakes smell amazing today! Eh? Why didn’t you take any chopsticks?”

Chen Qingyan pressed down on his hand just as he was about to grab the food. “Are you really just going to let them stand outside ruining your reputation?”

“What else can I do? I don’t want to dirty my mouth swearing at them, and if we get into a fight I’ll lose the moral high ground.”

“I’ll go and speak to them.”

“Don’t. You don’t understand these people — they’re greedy and shameless. If you let them get a taste of advantage, you’ll never shake them off!”

“Don’t worry, I have a way. This has to be resolved — if they come to make a scene every day, are you still going to be able to run your business?”

When Wang Ying couldn’t hold him back, he said, “Fine.”

The moment the door opened a crack, the couple rushed inside at once, their eyes darting around, afraid Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan would slip away.

Chen Qingyan took the initiative to speak.

“Yes, yes, come to take the bride back — you see, the two of us here.”

“Just in time. Take Wang Ying away.”

“What?”

“?”

Now not only the Wang couple, but even Wang Ying himself was confused — what did he mean by that?

Chen Qingyan said impatiently, “The only reason I married him was for the sake of appeasing bad luck; otherwise, who would marry some country bumpkin who can’t recognize even a single written character? Can’t present himself, can’t talk properly — apart from doing a bit of labor, he’s no use at all.”

As he spoke, he blinked at Wang Ying.

Wang Ying instantly understood and lowered his head, putting on an obedient, submissive act.

“Our Chen family is at least landlords, with an uncle who’s a sixth-rank Zhōu Mù³ (regional governor). I’m the legitimate eldest son, so of course I should marry someone who can manage the household with grace — not some wild brat from the countryside.”

Wang Ying took out a handkerchief and pretended to wipe away tears. When the Wang couple heard this, they started to panic. Before coming, they had only heard their eldest son say that the second was living well now, and they’d assumed he was basking in status at the Chen family. They hadn’t expected him to be disliked.

Thinking of the ten guan⁴ in betrothal gifts, Wang Laoshuan’s face changed at once. “Don’t say it like that — Wang Ying may not be as good as the town’s young men, but at least he’s been married to you. You can’t just send him back…”

“Why not? In the village you can marry a ge’er⁵ for less than a single guan; I spent ten — of course I should get a good one. How about this: you give me back eight guan and take him away; I won’t even ask for the remaining two.”

They wouldn’t part with eight guan — they wouldn’t even part with eight dia o⁶ — so at that, the two immediately turned to leave.

Wang Ying wailed after them, “Father, Mother, don’t abandon me!”

“Let go! Who’s your father? We wrote the severance letter long ago. We have nothing to do with each other — if you keep making a scene… I’ll report you to the authorities!”

Wang Ying’s stomach hurt from holding back his laughter, but he kept his face tragic. “The Chen family despises me, and now you don’t want me either. I might as well bash my head and be done with it!”

Wang Mother shoved him away in disgust. “Go roll off somewhere — don’t dirty our clothes.” She quickened her pace, almost fleeing the scene.

Once they were gone, Wang Ying burst out laughing and gave Chen Qingyan a hearty thumbs-up.

Chen Qingyan rubbed the back of his neck, ears red. “Let’s go eat before it all gets cold.”

Wang Ying went next door to the wonton stall to borrow a pair of chopsticks. “Have you eaten? Let’s eat together.”

“All right.”

The food was still warm. Today Aunt Chen had made three dishes: fried fish patties — with the fish caught fresh from the river (in town you could buy a whole jin for only ten wen) and fried in batter until fragrant and crispy; braised eggplant; and stir-fried cucumber with eggs.

The vegetables unsold during the day, Wang Ying would take home some of them in the evening, saving a lot of money on groceries.

While eating, Wang Ying nudged the person next to him with his shoulder. “Hey, what you just said — could it be your true thoughts?”

“Of course not!” Chen Qingyan immediately put down his chopsticks and said solemnly, “That was just a stopgap measure. Do I even need to say what you’re like?”

Wang Ying chuckled. “I’m teasing you. I know you were just pretending — I just didn’t expect you to be so good at it. You really surprised me.”

Chen Qingyan flushed. “I just didn’t want them to keep bothering you. What kind of parents treat their own son like that — it’s enough to chill anyone’s heart.”

“Oh, they can’t hurt me.” If it were the original owner, he probably would have felt crushed. But Wang Ying himself felt nothing — at most a twinge of disgust, like stepping in dog poop while walking.

Still, Chen Qingyan’s method was very effective. Next time the Wang family came to town, they’d likely go out of their way to avoid him.

After lunch, the owner of the Welcome Inn came by.

The last time he had come to inquire about vegetable prices, he had found them too high and tried to bargain, but the other party hadn’t given him the time of day.

He had waited four or five days without seeing anyone from the vegetable shop contact him, and now Zhao Lan was feeling some urgency.

At present, there were three restaurants in town, with the Welcome Inn being the largest. Anyone of status in town hosted banquets there.

In recent days, several guests had asked whether they had fresh vegetables; if he didn’t buy some soon, the other establishments might steal his business.

Zhao Lan coughed politely and entered with a pleasant face. “Ah, both shopkeepers are here.”

The two leaning together over the account book looked up. “Boss Zhao is here.”

“Heh heh, last time I came about buying vegetables — has Shopkeeper Wang given it some thought?”

Wang Ying said, “The price really can’t go any lower, and we can supply at most five jin per vegetable per day.”

“Only five jin?”

“Well, Manager Yang from Cui Xiang House came just yesterday and also placed orders here. Beyond that, we don’t have enough to sell.”

Zhao Lan suddenly grew anxious. “All right, all right, we’ll go by the price you mentioned — but make sure it’s the freshest!”

“Of course. If you’re worried, you can send a worker to pick them out personally.”

“Sure. Do you still have those tomatoes from last time?”

“Yes, but not many. The grain store owner, Manager Feng, and his family love them — they send someone to buy several every day. If you want, I can spare at most twenty for you. Price is ten wen each.”

“So expensive?” Zhao Lan hesitated.

“If you don’t want them, I can sell them to Manager Yang…”

“I want them! I want them! Keep them all for me!” Competitors were enemies — even if they were expensive, he couldn’t let Cui Xiang House outshine him.

“I’ll need you to pay a deposit in advance.”

“You think a big restaurant like mine would cheat you?”

“Of course not, but we’re just doing small business — we need that money to buy stock, or we’ll be strapped for cash.”

“Fine. Then I’ll order half a month’s worth. Be sure to keep the freshest for me.”

“Don’t worry.” Wang Ying pulled out his abacus, clacking away, “Paying half as a deposit comes to three guan five hundred and seventy wen, but I’ll wipe off the change for you — three guan five hundred wen flat.”

Zhao Lan secretly calculated and confirmed it was correct, but his expression was pained. Half a month’s vegetables were costing him nearly seven liang⁷ of silver — way too expensive!

Too bad there was no choice. This was the only shop with fresh vegetables; elsewhere you couldn’t even buy a leafy green. He simply had to find out where they were getting these vegetables from!

After sending off Boss Zhao, Wang Ying happily weighed the silver ingot in his hand and tossed it to Chen Qingyan. “How’s that? My business is pretty good, right?”

“I’m still worried someone will look into the source of the vegetables.”

“Don’t worry — borrowing your fourth uncle’s name when we opened wasn’t for nothing. He’s a sixth-rank official; commoners wouldn’t dare offend us.”

And that was only part of the plan.

Just a few days ago, while chatting with Er Shun, he’d learned that there was indeed a warm spring⁸ on the estate — what modern people would call a hot spring.

That place stayed warm all year round, with green grass even in the coldest winter. He planned that next year, when business slowed in early spring, he’d build a small lodge around the hot spring and grow vegetables there in winter as cover. That way, even if someone came looking, there’d be a plausible explanation.

In the afternoon, the sky looked ominous, with cold northern winds — perhaps it was going to snow.

Wang Ying closed the shop early, and the two walked home together.

Halfway back, snow began to fall — light as if someone were scattering salt — and the two quickened their pace, running the rest of the way.

As soon as they came in, they saw Madam Li already waiting at the door, smiling warmly as she beckoned them over.

“Mother, why are you waiting outside?”

“Waiting for you two! Cold, aren’t you? Today I’ve made hot pot in a clay jar⁹ — hurry in and warm yourselves.”

“Mmm, it smells amazing!” Wang Ying unfastened his cloak, and Chen Qingyan took it from him, shaking off the snow before hanging it on the rack.

“Where are Qingyun and Qingsong?”

“They’ve eaten already, and so have I. You two sit and eat.”

The hot pot was cooked in a clay crock, with chunks of radish and meat, its aroma filling the air.

The meat was tender, rich, and flavorful — not like pork, but more like beef. This was unusual, as in the Wu Dynasty eating beef was forbidden¹⁰ because cattle were vital for plowing; even if allowed, commoners wouldn’t bear to kill and eat them.

“What kind of meat is this? It’s so good.”

“Today I went to the Qiu family’s full-month banquet (for their baby), and Madam Qiu gave me a piece of game meat from the mountains. I had Aunt Chen stew it.”

Neither of them thought much of it and simply sat down to eat.

The meat was actually venison. At the Qiu household, Madam Li had been envious watching their plump grandson and couldn’t help sighing about her own family’s situation.

“You know, these two have been married so long and there’s still no movement. I heard from the servants they even sleep in separate beds. Who knows when I’ll have a grandson to hold.”

Madam Qiu leaned in conspiratorially. “I might have something good for that. When you leave, take it home and give it to the little couple to eat — guaranteed to work the first time!”

Madam Li perked up. “What is it?”

“My in-law’s younger brother hunts — recently he got a deer in the mountains and gave us a hind leg. I had the servants stew part of it. Guess what?”

“What?”

Madam Qiu’s face flushed red and she covered her mouth. “It’s an aphrodisiac — my old man kept me busy all night.”

“Oh my!” Madam Li couldn’t help blushing too.

The two women exchanged a glance and then burst out laughing. When she left, Madam Qiu gave her the rest of the meat to take home.

That pot of meat — Wang Ying ate over half, and Chen Qingyan ate quite a bit too. The two young men even drank all the broth.

Madam Li sat nearby with a benevolent smile. “Eat up, eat more. After you’re full, you can give me a big grandson.”

notes:

1. Wen (文) — a unit of copper coin currency used in imperial China. 
2. Jin (斤) — a traditional Chinese weight unit, in this period roughly equivalent to 0.5 kilograms. 
3. Zhōu Mù (州牧) — a regional governor in imperial administrative hierarchy. 
4. Guan (贯) — a large denomination of currency; literally a string of 1,000 copper coins. 
5. Ge’er (哥儿) — in historical Chinese fiction, a term used for a male who can be married off, often in fictional settings referring to males with childbearing ability (fantasy trope). 
6. Diao (吊) — a very small currency unit, literally a single string of 10 coins; here used to mean “not even a little bit of money.” 
7. Liang (两) — a Chinese ounce of silver (tael), a standard silver currency unit. 
8. “Warm spring” — a natural hot spring. 
9. Hot pot in a clay jar — not modern hot pot; this refers to ingredients slow-cooked in a clay vessel for long hours, served bubbling hot. 
10. Beef ban — certain historical dynasties, including some like Ming/Qing equivalents, prohibited eating beef because cattle were essential for agriculture.